Weeding device.



No. 654.904 Y Patented July 3|, |900.

.` s. F. MAncHANT.

WEEDING DEVIGE.V

(Application led Aug. 1.5, 189B. lqnswed Hay 81, 1900.) (N0 Modal.)

`Jiggf 1 UNITED STATES' PATENT: OFFICE.'

GEORGE n. A Manci-MNT, on OHIiOAGO, iLLINOIs.

WEI-:DING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION fOrmng part ofhLettei's :Patent NO. 654,904, dated July 31, 1900. Application tiled August 15, 1898. Renewed May 1900. Serial No. 18,641. (No model.)

T0 all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. MARCHANT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, inthe county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and 'useful Improvement in Weeding Devices, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention is in the nature of an improved weeding device for use more especially on lawns for weeding out dandelions or other plants or weeds injurious to the lawn.

My object is to provide a weeding device of simple construction and of easy and eective operation and cheaply manufactured.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a View, partly in section, of my improved weeding device in its preferred form; Fig. 2, a view in end elevation of the upper portion of the device viewed as indicated by the arrow on line 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a plan view of the cone which serves to operate the weeding-prongs; Fig. 4, a plan view of a triangular bracket to which the prongs are pivoted, and Fig. 5 a plan view of a spring which serves tO separate the prongs when their up per ends are released by the downward movement of the cone. Y

A represents a standard, which maybe conveniently formed from half-inch tubing, the

lower end of which screws into the triangular bracket B and the upper end of which is surmounted by a sleeve-like head C, carrying a handle D. A portion of the sleeve C is cut away `to afford 4a channel E, within which moves a lever F, fulcrumed at one end in a slotted lug s on the lower side of the Vhandle D and provided centrally with a perforated boss a", through which passes the upper end of the connecting-rod G.l The connectingrod is adjustably secured at its upper end to the lever F by means of nuts p and at its lower end is provided with a hook or loop n, through which passes a pin m, moving in a slot m in the pipe A and extending into an annular cone H, which moves on the pipe A.

The bracket B is provided with slotted radial arms Z, in which are fulcrumed at points k comparativelythin vertically-disposed collapsible weeding-prongs I, preferably three in number, located one` hundred and twenty Vand serving to hold the prongs normally in an open position.

The spring is held in place by fitting at its points of contact in grooves at the inner edges of the prongs. i

The handle D and sleeve C are` preferably integrally formed, being cast hollow to render them sufficiently light. The scrrations on the prongs I preferably project inwardly and upwardly, so as to take hold readily upon the plant which is to be extracted. The lower endsof the prongs should be thin enough to move through the earth without the exertion of too much force upon them, and yet should be thick enough to grasp rather than cnt the stem.

The operation is as follows: The prongs are held normally open at their lower ends by the spring J. When a plant is to be pulled, the

device is set with the prongs encircling it and is shoved down by means of the handle into the ground a sufficient distance, after which the lever F is raised, drawing the rod Gr, and through its medium the cone H, upward,there by throwing the upper ends of the prongs outward, causing the serrated inner edges of the lower ends of the prongs to take hold of the stem of the plant,when the latter can be readily jerked out. When the lever F is released,

it drops downward, releasing the upper ends of the prongs from engagement with the cone and allowing the spring J to separate the prongs at their lower ends.

Changes in details of construction within the spirit of my inventionmay be made.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is s In a weeding device, the combination of a standard pipe provided toward its lower end with a slot, a bracket secured to the lower end of the pipe, an annular cone fitting slid- IOO ingly upon said pipe at theslottedportion, a lying. the lower ends `of the prongs when the' Y connecting-rod Within the pipe., means join/ff connecting-rod is lowered, substantially as ing the connecting-'rod and cone, a handle and for the purpose set forth. -for the device, means for actuating the con- GEORGE F. MARCHANT:

'5 nect-ng-rod, prongs livoted to the arms of In presence of said bracket provided with upper ends in D. W. LEE, Contact with said coue,'fand means for spread' R. SPENCER; 

